...a potato chip made out of brussel sprout leaves...

I love roasted Brussels sprouts. They really don't taste like those nasty things most parents try to feed kids when they are young, they are really rather good and not bitter. The roasting brings out the sweetness. But the best part is when you have the outer leaves that fall off and they crisp up like little potato chips, crunch and all! They are glorious I tell you.


You can find my recipe for roasting them here. The trick with the chips is you have to pull out the pan after 10 minutes and rescue all the little leaves that got jostled off. If you let them go the whole time they will burn and it will be oh so sad. So after 10 minutes take the pan out, don't burn your fingers, and grab all the abandoned leaves off the pan. Toss the rest of the intact sprouts around and stick it back in the oven.

I really just need to pluck all the leaves off and make a full batch of chips one of these days... because I eat these things in seconds!

MMMMMM Brussels sprout chips... mmmmmmm

Hello my name is Stephanie... and yes, I am a carboholic. Really now, how do you say no to a nice hot, right of the oven, slice of bread??? I'd like to see you try!!

This is the recipe I mentioned last week that I saw and made all in the same day. Full day of work, hour long spinning class with Brian the beast (seriously he's insane, I LOVE the class, and if he catches you talking to your neighbor he starts yelling about how if you have enough energy to talk... you aint working hard enough... ahh Brian love it), then it was home to make this bread... it just sounded so good! I couldn't resist.


I have one of the big kitchen aids, the 5 quart "heavy duty" kind... and this recipe made it jump around a bit... it's a BEAST of a ball of dough.


I mean look at it once it was done, it's about to jump ship!!

The recipe comes from Sugarlaws and there were a few questions I had while following her recipe... my comments in red italics.

Oatmeal Wheat Bread
recipe from Sugarlaws

3 cups whole wheat flour
3 cups bread flour
2 cups warm water (i'm assuming you use 1/4 cup for the proof and then the remaining 1 3/4 for the actual dough part....)
1 packet yeast (2 1/4 tsp if you are using a jar of yeast, or 1 cake fresh yeast)
1/2 cup instant oats, plus additional oatmeal for sprinkling on the loaf (I used whole oats instead of instant)
1/2 cup water (use this to make the oatmeal... I used a little more eyeballing it)
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp salt (I used 1.5 tsp)

Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of water (I warmed the water to 110 degrees first) with 1 tsp of sugar. At the same time, microwave the oatmeal grains and water until oatmeal has absorbed the water, about 30 seconds to 1 minute (since I used whole rolled oats, I microwaved mine with a little more water for 3 minutes). When the yeast and water turns milky/creamy, mix it with the flour, the oatmeal, the rest of the water and salt and knead for about 10 minutes (took less time with the kitchen aid). If dough is too sticky, add a little bit of flour to make it easier to knead. Place the dough in a greased bowl and allow it to rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size. Punch down the dough, knead it again briefly, and place it in a greased pan for baking (she didn't mention what size pan, I used a normal size loaf pan and then a smaller loaf pan since there was too much for one loaf).

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees, and allow the dough to rise for an additional 45 minutes, or until it rises to the size you want. Sprinkle some additional oats on the top of the loaf. Bake for 25 minutes, allow to cool, and slice.


Can't you just smell the yeast proofing? Question for you. Do you LIKE or DISLIKE the smell of proofing yeast? I love it!! Which is ironic in a way since it reminds me of beer and I'm not a huge beer fan...

So I've never actually made collard greens before... eaten them plenty... my favorite way to have them is in a dish called gomen, it's Ethiopian and delicious!!! I need to figure out how to make some at home for sure... so good!

As for these "garlicky" greens... they have over 7 cloves in it... and in all truth, they didn't taste very garlicky at ALL, it was kinda sad. So if you make these add more garlic for sure... and maybe some other things to jazz things up. After scooping some onto our plates John and I both were under-enthused. So the self described "concoction king" John went back into the kitchen and did some majic on them to make them taste better... what he did... I have no clue, and he wont tell me LOL! So here's a base recipe for you... and good luck getting John to fess up to what he added in :)


GARLICKY BLACK-EYED PEAS 'N' GREENS
recipe from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

2 c dried black-eyed peas
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3/4 lb collared greens (which is what I used), kale, or mustard
greens, rinsed and chopped (about 6 c loosely packed)
1 T olive oil
2 to 4 T minced garlic (I used 3-4)
1 t dried thyme
salt and ground black pepper to taste

cooked rice
chopped scallions or red onions
lemon wedges or hot pepper vinegar

Rinse the black-eyed peas. Place them in a soup pot with garlic cloves and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and cook for 45 minutes, until tender, adding water occasionally as needed. The beans should be moist but not soupy, so it is ideal when most of the water has been absorbed at the end of cooking. When the beans are tender, if most of the water has not been absorbed, lightly drain them. Cover and set aside.

Rinse the greens and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and saute the minced garlic and thyme for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the damp green and continue to stir until they are wilted but still bright green. Stir the greens into the beans and mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

...that tastes good :) No seriously it does! This isn't the sticky sweet kind, so if that's your poison of choice... you may not like this version. Oh and it's not made in a cast iron pan... so if you're from the south... please don't hurt me :) I'm just a silly northerner making low fat corn bread... so don't be hating on me :D


OK so now you are thinking... eww this is going to be nasty dry cornbread... NOPE! It's moist due to two reasons that help this thing be almost fat free... let's talk about ways to make things fat free... sub out the butter with healthier better for you things like: pureed fruit, pureed veggies, fat free yogurt... ok let's talk about that last one there. Stonyfield Farms contacted me and sent me some great coupons so I could try out and experiment with their wide range of products. They also sent a super cute spatula! Perfect for getting every last drop of yogurt out of the containers. LOVE IT!

I started out with their Greek yogurt (YUM). I've always just eaten my Greek yogurt with a little added honey and never cooked with it, so this was something new. I'm in the works of a tasty lemon poppy seed muffin using it as a base... it's not perfect yet though... so I'll have to share it with you a little down the road :)

Next I used some low fat lemon yogurt to make some AMAZING lemon blueberry muffins... but I think I've muffin overloaded you... so maybe I'll write about them later this week??

So back to that almost fat free corn bread! I used the fat free french vanilla yogurt to sub out the butter in this recipe. I also used pumpkin puree (don't worry you don't taste it... just adds the moisture and awesome texture). I also used whole wheat flour to make this thing even healthier! So why isn't this bad boy fat free? Well I used an egg... so that yolk is the tiny bit of fat in this guy. Even without the fat this thing has a really nice crumb and texture to it. I may have eaten 1/4 of the pan when I made this the other night.


Almost Fat free corn bread
adapted from from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites
wet
2 Tbs brown sugar (packed)
1 egg plus 1 egg white
3/4 cup stonyfield french vanilla fat free yogurt
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (you don't taste it... just adds awesome moist texture)

dry
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup corn meal
1 Tbs baking powder

Heat oven to 350 and lightly spray an 8" stoneware baking pan with cooking spray or olive oil
Beat together wet ingredients and set aside.
Whisk together dry.
Add dry to wet and stir until just barley incorporated (don't over mix/beat).
Pour into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

CHOW!

This recipe makes a TON of coleslaw... so be prepared to eat this everyday for a week... or have a party of people coming over to help you eat it all :) I used some with the Buffalo Chicken I posted yesterday, and then spent the rest of the week putting it on top of whatever I had for lunch. Coleslaw and sharp cheddar sandwich anyone?? Tasty!


This is super easy and wicked flavorful. I'll totally be using this as a stand in to the normal fat filled variety. This stuff made me feel like it was summer, crisp, light... why can't spring get here already??

Colorful Coleslaw
1/3 cup light mayo
1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
2 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 Tbs fat free milk
2 tsp sugar
4 cups packed shredded green cabbage
3.5 cups packed shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup red onion slivers
1/4 cup chopped whole green onion
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
black pepper
I added in some celery seeds

Stir mayo through sugar together, toss in veggies, then season with salt and pepper. Stir till combined, cover and refrigerate.

Have a great weekend everyone!!! Tomorrow is national Pi day... yes yes I'm a NERD... So we'll see if I get around to baking a pie for pi day :)

Other things to come next week... a smoothie named after a TV station... some baba ghanoush! come on it's just fun to say. Garlic hummus... AND muffins made with quinoa!!!! So come on back for some more chow and fun :) OH and I almost forgot, some amazing whole wheat soft pretzels!!

So I mentioned a little while back that I made some peanut asian coleslaw... I realized the other day that I never posted the pictures or the recipe... so here we go! Green cabbage was on sale for crazy cheep so I bought a head having no idea what I would use it for... considering I don't like cooked cabbage... I always liked corned beef but Mom always boiled it with cabbage and carrots... BLEH! At least as a kid it was bleh.. maybe I'd like it now... note to self get recipe from Mom and make some when John isn't around :D Anyway I had a head of cabbage to use and decided to start mixing things up and come up with a recipe on the fly... Here is what I came up with!

Peanut Asian Coleslaw
1/2 head green cabbage chopped into thin strips
2-3 carrots, sliced into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
3 Tablespoons peanut butter (I use 100% natural nothing added crunchy peanut butter... ingredients: peanuts... that's it. YUM!)
2 Tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
Sprinkle top with sesame seeds

Chop and slice cabbage and carrots and place in a festive bowl. In a small bowl blend together peanut butter through brown sugar. (I use natural peanut butter so it gets a bit stiff since you have to refrigerate it, so I just microwave the peanut butter in the small bowl first for 30 seconds to make it easier to work with). Once your sauce is all incorporated, pour over cabbage/carrot mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.

This stuff tastes even better the next day after it's had time to marinate.

Chow!